page_title: Bakersfield, California
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Bakersfield, California / Sports
caption_attribution_description: w:Bakersfield Condors vs. w:Las_Vegas Wranglers, #81 Justin Donati faces off
context_page_description: Bakersfield is a charter city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about 151 sq mi near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of 2019 is 384,145, making it the 52nd-most populous city in the United States of America and the 9th-most populous city in California. The Bakersfield–Delano Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Kern County, had a 2010 census population of 839,631, making it the 62nd-largest metropolitan area in the United States. The more built-up portion of the metro area that includes Bakersfield and areas immediately around the city, such as East Bakersfield, Oildale and Rosedale, has a population of about 520,000.
  Bakersfield is a significant hub for both agriculture and energy production. Kern County is the most productive oil-producing county and the fourth-most productive agricultural county in the United States. Industries in and around Bakersfield include natural gas and other energy extraction, mining, petroleum refining, distribution, food processing, and corporate regional offices.
context_section_description: Bakersfield is not represented in any of the five major sports leagues: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, or MLS. The closest major sports teams are in Los Angeles and they have many fans in Bakersfield. The city is home to two minor league professional sports teams: the Bakersfield Condors (American Hockey League) and the Bakersfield Train Robbers baseball club (Pecos League). It was previously home to the California League's Bakersfield Blaze baseball team which ceased operations after the 2016 season. A third minor league team, the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League (basketball), was relocated to Prescott Valley, Arizona, in 2016.
  In addition, Bakersfield has two colleges with strong athletics programs. Bakersfield College Renegades is a community college with 19 varsity sports, the most notable being football. It competes in the Western State Conference, which is a part of the California Community College Athletic Association. California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners is a university with 15 varsity sports, the most notable being basketball. It competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the Western Athletic Conference
  Bakersfield is home to Colby Lewis from the MLB team, the Texas Rangers, Stephen Neal from the Super Bowl Champions, New England Patriots. NFL players Joey Porter, David and Derrick Carr also have called Bakersfield home, and still have some connection to Bakersfield.
  Bakersfield is also located near a variety of motor racing venues. Current racing sports include: drag strip (at Famoso Raceway), dirt (at Bakersfield Speedway), road course (at Buttonwillow Raceway), and a paved 1/2 mile oval (at Kern County Raceway Park), which replaced Mesa Marin Raceway, a NASCAR associated oval track, that was demolished in 2004. A 1/3 mile dirt track has also opened on the Kern County Raceway Park property.  The national jet boat association holds drag boat races at Lake Ming. Bakersfield is also the home town of four time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, as well as the 2007 Daytona 500 winner, and 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick.
  Bakersfield has many venues for a variety of different sports. One of the most notable and versatile is the Mechanics Bank Arena (formerly the Centennial Garden) which hosts concerts, shows, and sporting events. In addition, Bakersfield has facilities that can host tournament games. The Kern County Soccer Field has 24 full-size light soccer fields. Also, currently under construction is the Bakersfield Sports Village. When completed, it will have 16 baseball fields, 6 football fields, and 16 soccer fields.
caption: A minor league hockey game being played at Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena
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